Tested: Natural remedies for puffy, tired eyes

Home remedies for emergency eye recovery that really relieve a hangover! Lucy AitkenRead reveals her eco thrifty-living tricks with Cosmo

Mar 16, 2015

They say eyes are the window to the soul. My soul is clearly currently wondering HOW my body thought it could stay up dancing until the early hours for two nights in a row. It's also wondering WHO in our party was in charge of getting the bulk buy deal on craft beers and WHY children weren't born with a Sleep-In button parents could push just once in a while. My soul has a lot of questions today.

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My eyes are red-rimmed, puffy, tired, sore, dry, and have dark rings beneath them. If there was ever a moment to pull out all the stops for an eye emergency, this is it.

I consult my natural beauty spell books and all the home-remedies-handed-down-through-generations-folk wisdom in my head and settle on a multi-pronged approach.

Eye bath

You know how the fail safe way to deal with calamity is with a good strong cuppa? The same is true when our eyeballs meet with hard times. Officially, in beauty world, steeping healing herbs and plants in boiling water is called "an infusion". We know they are simply a brew.

I opt for chamomile as the Boss of all soothing herbs, and black tea, for the caffeine hit. (I always thought putting caffeine in beauty products, like moisturisers and shower gels, was a bit of a gimmick. If it is ever gonna work, it has to be through the eyeballs no? Don't junkies sometimes shoot up their retinas? It has to lead somewhere…surely.)

How

I steep a tea bag of each and leave it to cool. I bathe each eye in it for 30 seconds each a couple of times. It stings at first, but once I get used to it, it feels deeply relieving.

Lucy's all-natural eye remedies

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Eye mask

The primary point of an eye mask is to cool the whole area of the eye, adding something cold can instantly reduce swelling. It is said that there are a few supermodels who swear by simply rubbing ice cubes on their eye bags after a heavy night.

The secondary point is to harness the healing properties in some of the fruit and veggies around – i.e. slices of potato over the eyes has a brilliant decongesting effect.

I opt for peaches – a favourite eye reviver of my ancient Jamaican neighbour who reckoned the Vitamin C gave her tired eyes a perky boost. (The internet has since verified this could be the case!)

How

I mash them up and stick them in the freezer.

The hardest bit about applying the peaches is not eating it- it is basically the yummiest sorbet ever. I love the feel of it on my skin, sticky and taunting and cooling and dribbling into my mouth. *Homer noises*

Eye cream

Here's another technical natural beauty term for you - courtesy of the lovely Neal's Yard- "macerated oils". Macerating your oils is a great way of extracting the goodness from aromatic herbs and plants. You cover the herbs you like with oil (extra virgin olive oil and almond oil work well, but coconut oil is my all time favourite) and heat it gently.

How

I opted to macerate (you can see I am really enjoying this word) some mint and coconut oil. Mint has a massive pick me up vibe and coconut oil is reckoned to be one of the most nourishing, line-removing ingredients we can put around our eyes.

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I chop up a massive handful of mint from the garden and simmer it in a cup full of oil for one hour. I strain it into a jar and wait for it to cool.

It feels lovely putting it on, adding just the right tingle and sheen.

The results of Lucy's eye experiment

Results

The physical results are minute, really, they are, I know. In photo number one I look tired and lackluster and in photo number two I look tired and lackluster with a faint shimmer of optimism in my iris. (That'll be the peach.)

So the tea-peach-mint combo didn't transform me from strung out clubber to Next Top Model.

But... My eyes FEEL great! My eyeballs feel moist and clear and awake and I feel fortified for the day ahead.

I will absolutely, definitely, 100% be busting out this strategy the next time my soul is pouring its woes out of my corneas.

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And I guess that is half the idea of natural beauty, really. A little bit of self-care, indulging our bodies, nourishing our organs, helps us feel beautiful from the inside out.

My soul now? It is just lounging about feeling revived and gorgeous, and asking when the next party is…

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